Black men arrested at Starbucks speak out, want to inspire change

The issue, of course, is racial bias - a complex, systemic problem that some observers said an afternoon of diversity training would do little to change, however well-intentioned or informed it may be.

"And for that, I personally apologise to the two gentlemen who visited our store".

The 23-year-old Philadelphia entrepreneurs, who said they feared for their lives during the arrest, had not been publicly identified until Thursday and were not charged with a crime.

And the department has already completed a new policy to guide officers in how to deal with similar situations. Robinson and Johnson were in the shop for two minutes before a manager called 9-1-1. "And I know some people don't or refuse to understand that, but it's just a reality", Ross said. "I've been an African-American man my entire life". Anybody see that? Send it to me please.

Yet this is Starbucks, a brand that has positioned itself in our national consciousness as not just a restaurant chain or retail operation, but as a "third place" meet-up spot for the community. "As for the manager, that's a whole other ballgame".

Ross said officers did what they were supposed to do and were professional in their dealings with the men, "and instead they got the opposite back". But he declined to provide details until it is released at a later date.

Of course the racists are are doing all they can to be heard and the latest act of foolishness is a fake coupon that was reportedly made by white supremacists.

Protestor Soren Mcclay, 14, demonstrates outside a Center City Starbucks on April 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 'Words are very important'.

Katie Adams said she has spent hours at her local Starbucks, sometimes drinking only free water - without incident.

"I think you have to say in looking at the tape that she demonstrated her own level of unconscious bias", Schultz told King. "Starbucks just upped the game for everyone", said Carreen Winters, chief strategy officer for MWW Public Relations. Speaking on Good Morning America, Robinson said he was surprised to see the police arrive. Nelson and Robinson believe they were racially profiled by the store's manager, a white woman. "We have meetings at Starbucks all the time". Action News has also learned that Mayor Jim Kenney also apologized to the two men who were arrested.

Ross defended his officers against that assertion.

He thought nothing of it when he and his childhood friend and business partner, Donte Robinson, were approached at their table and were asked if they needed help. And they were neither physically or vebally abusive during the arrests. Starbucks officials said they are aware of the video. "Because there was no policy until now, the law allowed them to (arrest them). Do you let it slide, like we let everything else slide with injustice?" "I should not at all be the person that is a party to making anything worse relative to race matters".

"I think unfortunately that video, for many of us, was too familiar", Ifill said.